* - - - *
‘Oooh, what’s that delicious smell?’ Rebecca asked as she entered the apartment.
‘I call it Justin-ala-surprise,’ Justin said and hugged his wife.
‘I can get used to this,’ she said and giggled. Rebecca stopped in mid-smile and frowned. She took a step back and tilted her head only slightly. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘What do you want and how much is it going to cost us?’
Justin laughed. ‘It’s not that,’ he said. ‘I got a call today.’
Rebecca held her hand to her mouth. ‘You got the job?’
‘I got the job!’
Rebecca shrieked with utter delight and flung her arms around Justin’s neck. ‘I’m so happy for you, baby.’
Justin led Rebecca to the living room where a candle-lit dinner had been prepared. ‘For the mommy,’ he said and pulled out a chair.
‘I...I don’t know what to say...’ she said. Tears brimmed in her eyes.
‘You don’t have to say anything,’ Justin said. ‘It’s about time that I treated you for a change. Just sit back and enjoy it.’
They both did. For the first time since Justin lost his job did both fully enjoy dinner and relax in each other’s presence. After dinner, Justin brought Rebecca a warm pudding, after which they watched some television as they snuggled on the couch. After taking a bath, Rebecca ordered Justin to wait in the living room until she called him. When she finally did, he entered the bedroom to find that she wanted to return his dinner surprise by wearing lingerie that she bought for their anniversary weekend away.
‘Hey you,’ Justin said and embraced his wife. They both kissed passionately and as they got into bed, Rebecca switched off the lamp. They kissed some more, but after a while, something started bothering Justin. He couldn’t figure out what it was, but he felt a definite presence in the room. An image of Megan flashed through his mind and he abruptly stopped kissing Rebecca.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked.
‘Turn on the light,’ Justin said and Rebecca did so.
‘What’s wrong?’ she asked again.
Justin looked at the corner of the room. There was nothing there.
‘Talk to me—’
‘Shush!’
Rebecca kept quiet. She hated being afraid, and the fact that Justin didn’t tell her what was wrong frightened her even more.
Justin turned around and lay with his back turned to Rebecca. She gently touched his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. Rebecca didn’t want to upset him even more, so instead, she switched off the light and placed her arm carefully around his waist.
From the corner of the room, two glowing eyes observed the pair on the bed. It advanced and then stopped short at the foot of the bed, still observing. It watched them for a while longer before fading away.
Chapter 3
The music was loud. Too loud. Justin scanned his eyes across the crowd at the party. There were all sorts of people: the fighting couple who managed to pique everyone’s interest for at least a minute; the players who pretended they had all the connections and cash anyone would ever need; the managers who preferred to socialize in small groups of three and avoid staff at all cost; and last, but also least, the general company employees. Justin didn’t know anyone.
‘Hell of a party, eh?’ one of the office pencil pushers asked Justin. He waved his whiskey glass in the general direction of the five people twitching on the space set aside for dancing.
‘Yeah, okay,’ Justin said, trying to humour the man. He searched for Rebecca but couldn’t find her anywhere. Most probably fled to the ladies room, he thought. Which isn’t such a bad idea, come to think of it.
‘So in which department are you?’ the man asked.
‘Technical,’ Justin said and shoved past the man. ‘Excuse me, will you? I need to use the John.’
‘Sure thing, buddy,’ the man yelled above the music. ‘I’ll be on the dance floor if you need me.’
Like that would ever happen, Justin thought. He faked a quick smile and then proceeded to search for the men’s room. It didn’t take long to find it, and he soon found himself staring into a mirror, wondering how he got conned into going in the first place. I hate corporate functions, Justin thought as he splashed some water over his face. A cold draft coming from an open window above the basin made the water sting his face and he instinctively reached to close the window. As he pulled the handle, a grunting sound outside made him freeze in mid-motion.
He listened.
Was there someone back there? He strained to see into the darkness outside, but could only make out basic shapes of trees and cars.
Ruffling of leaves in a tree nearby.
Another grunt, but this time so close that Justin jerked. Something shuffled past the window; something huge. The pungent smell of charred flesh struck Justin’s nostrils and he almost lost his lunch as the huge thing made its way past the window.
What the hell is that? Justin’s mind screamed. He tried to manoeuvre his head in such a way as to see what it was, but it had already disappeared from view. Whatever it is, Justin thought, it’s heading towards the people!
Justin bolted for the door, but he froze when the screaming started. The music stopped abruptly and Justin could hear people running and trampling one another as they tried to get away from the beast. Justin ran for a stall and locked himself inside, clenching his teeth and eyes as tightly as he could while people outside continued to yell and scream. The screaming stopped just as suddenly as it had started, and Justin slowly opened his eyes. Rebecca! he thought, but as he was about to get up he heard the bathroom door break open with a loud crunch. There was a shuffling sound; the smell of singed flesh again.
Oh no! Justin thought and his stomach churned. Help me, someone! Anyone!
The shuffling neared his stall door; the stench became stronger, almost unbearable. Finally the shuffling stopped right in front of his stall door.
Bang!
The stall door cracked.
This isn’t happening! Help me!
Another grunt. The thing on the opposite side of the door snorted.
Bang!
The stall door cracked down the middle. One more blow of that force, and the door would cave in.
‘Leave me alone!’ Justin screamed.
In the background, the music came back on, louder than before.
BANG!
The door splintered open and he saw the face of a hideous creature coming at him.
Justin woke up screaming, clawing in the darkness as Rebecca tugged at his arm.
‘Justin, wake up!’
Justin was disorientated. It was dark, but the music was still playing at top volume. He jumped from the bed and stood still for a moment as he tried to figure out what was going on.
‘The music,’ Rebecca urged from somewhere in the darkness. ‘Turn off the music!’
Justin ran to the living room and after a few attempts, managed to switch off the radio that was blasting at top volume. The living room light went on and Justin jumped.
‘What was that?’ Rebecca asked as she joined him.
‘The radio,’ Justin said. ‘It must have gone on or something.’ There was a distinct ringing in his ears as he unplugged the radio. Just in case it wants to go on again. ‘Did you set it on timer or something?’
‘I hardly ever use it,’ Rebecca said. ‘I haven’t touched it in almost six months.’
Justin looked at the digital clock on the wall. It was 03:00 AM. ‘Is this time correct?’
Rebecca nodded.
Justin rubbed his face. ‘Are you sure you didn’t set the alarm by accident?’
‘I didn’t even know the radio had an alarm,’ she defended.
‘Weird,’ Justin said. ‘Come, let’s get back to bed. I have to get up for my new job in about two hours.’
/> Rebecca followed him and darkness instantly returned when she pressed the light switch.
* - - - *
The cool night breeze sent a shiver down Simon’s spine. Something evil was brewing in Kelwick. He could sense it; feel it; smell it in the air. It wasn’t something obvious. It was so subtle that people pre-occupied with the everyday running of their lives probably wouldn’t notice any change at all. But it was there; and Simon sensed it.
There was the heat wave and the strange and violent behaviour in animals, especially dogs, but what bothered Simon the most were the bad dreams. He could handle normal nightmares; but there was something evil about these nightmares; almost as if influenced by an external force. It was something that he could sense, but not see; and that frustrated him.
‘Why?’ Simon whispered softly. He looked around him, but the streets were deserted at this hour of the morning. It would be three more hours before the sun would even begin to make a faint appearance on the horizon. ‘Why am I so different, Lord?’
The soft rustling in the nearby trees was the only answer he received. Since he could remember he had been able to ‘sense’ certain things about people and situations with one hundred per cent accuracy. He also had a gift of healing people and animals, but restricted himself from using it for fear of becoming a lab rat or some sort of messiah figure. He hated the idea of using his gifts as cheap cocktail party thrills.
A dog howled nearby, and another joined in. Soon, a frantic barking and howling chain reaction echoed into the early morning skies. This had become a common occurrence since roughly two weeks earlier. Something agitated the animals. Simon could sense it. Something invisible and undeniably evil.
* - - - *
‘How’s the tie?’ Justin asked.
‘Hold on, Tanya,’ Rebecca said and cradled the phone between her cheek and shoulder as she straightened his tie. She took a step back and eyed her corporate husband from top to bottom. When she was satisfied that he was presentable, she gave him a thumbs up. ‘Yeah,’ she said once the phone was pressed to her ear again. ‘I completely hear what you’re saying.’
Justin beamed. He contemplated making himself some coffee before leaving for work, but decided against it. He didn’t want to spoil his mint-flavoured breath this early in the morning, so he opted for another check-up in the bathroom mirror instead.
‘She should have put that dog down a long time ago,’ Rebecca said as she made her way to the kitchen. In the hallway she absentmindedly corrected a photo frame that was hanging skew. ‘And how is little Timmy doing?’
She walked into the kitchen, filled the kettle with water, and flipped the switch. The water should be boiled by the time Justin had left. ‘Uh-huh,’ she said. In the living room, she corrected a skew painting that hung above the television. ‘It’s that bad?’ She switched on the television and muted it. She just wanted the white noise in the background until Tanya got there. ‘That’s just terrible.’
‘Becky,’ Justin called from the bedroom.
‘Gotta go,’ Rebecca said. ‘See you in half an hour.’ She hung up and walked to the bathroom, fixing another skew painting on the way.
‘I’m ready to go,’ Justin said and pushed out his chest. ‘Wish me luck.’
‘Good luck, sweetie,’ Rebecca said and kissed him. ‘Go make me proud.’
Justin picked up his briefcase that contained a notebook, some pens, his lunchbox, and a basic computer repair toolkit. ‘I should be back at around six.’
‘Have fun, love,’ she said and walked with him to the car.
‘Oh yeah, what was Tanya on about?’
‘Oh,’ Rebecca said and her eyes widened. ‘You know the Buckman’s dog?’
‘Brutus? What about it?’
‘It attacked little Timmy, their next door neighbour’s boy.’
‘That’s impossible,’ Justin said. ‘That dog couldn’t attack a ball of fluff even if it wanted to.’
‘Tell that to Timmy’s parents. He’s in intensive care at the hospital in critical condition.’
‘That kid must have done something to seriously agitate that dog,’ Justin said. ‘There’s no way it would attack for no reason at all.’
‘Hey,’ Rebecca said and kissed him on the cheek. ‘Don’t shoot the messenger.’
Justin grinned. ‘I’ll see you tonight.’
He got into the car, started it, kissed her goodbye one more time, and then drove off. Rebecca waved at him until he disappeared around the corner. She had half an hour to kill before Tanya would pick her up for work. Enough time for a nice cup of tea and heavy duty catching up on her magazines that she had been neglecting the past two weeks. She stirred the tea and made her way to the living room, but when she got there she froze on the spot. She stood perfectly still and moving only her eyes, surveyed the living room. She slowly turned and made her way to the hallway.
Rebecca dropped the cup and her hand reached her mouth before the porcelain shattered against the tiles. Both paintings in the living room and the photo in the hallway were hanging skew again.
* - - - *
‘This is the workshop,’ one of Cybernetics Computer’s in-house technicians said as he guided Justin on a tour through the company. ‘If the field engineers can’t fix a problem on site, they bring it here.’
Justin nodded.
‘If the broken part, say, for instance, a motherboard or hard drive can’t be fixed here; we either swap it under warranty or quote the client for a new one.’
‘I see,’ Justin said. When they entered the workshop, the five technicians looked up for a brief moment.
‘Guys,’ the tour guide technician said. ‘This is Justin Greene. He’ll be joining you as of today.’
The other technicians—the eldest being no older than twenty seven, Justin estimated—acknowledged him with a mere murmur, nod, or wave before continuing with what they were working on. Justin figured that he might get a more formal introduction a bit later when he would actually start working in the workshop. For just a brief moment a fear crept into his thoughts; fear that he didn’t have what it takes. He wondered if he would be able to do what was expected of him.
‘Let me show you the kitchen.’
The two of them walked down the long hallway and up a flight of stairs. ‘This is most probably where you’ll be spending most of your time,’ Tour-Techie—as Justin came to dub him—said, taking a stab at humour.
Justin chuckled.
Someone walked up from behind and placed his hand on Justin’s shoulder. ‘Justin, right?’
Justin turned and greeted the stranger from the coffee shop with a firm handshake. ‘That’s right,’ he said. ‘And you are...?’
‘Simon,’ the man said. ‘I’m glad to see that you got the job.’
‘You and me both,’ Justin said and laughed nervously. ‘Thank you so much for arranging this.’
‘I didn’t,’ Simon said. ‘I merely gave them your details. You did the rest.’
‘Thank you anyway,’ Justin said. He liked Simon’s humility.
Simon frowned. ‘Is something wrong?’
Justin shook his head. ‘Not at all,’ he said. ‘I already feel at home here.’
‘Not here,’ Simon said. ‘At home.’
‘I’m not sure that I understand what you mean?’
‘Whatever happens, just be there for Rebecca, okay?
‘Rebecca?’ Justin frowned. ‘What does she…?’
Simon smiled and he shook Justin’s hand once more. ‘Hope you enjoy it here,’ he said before briskly walking away.
‘What the heck was that about?’ Tour-Techie asked.
‘I don’t know,’ Justin said and shrugged.
>
‘Do you know Simon?’
‘I briefly met him in a coffee shop a few days ago.’
Tour-Techie chuckled. ‘He’s a strange one, that guy. But you know what? He’s one of our best. A bit weird at times, but you should see him hack away at a keyboard.’
‘I can only imagine,’ Justin said, distracted by Simon’s words.
‘Come,’ Tour-Techie said. ‘Let’s get us some java.’
* - - - *
Rebecca opened the door to the apartment, and for the first time in over a year, it felt cold and empty. Almost unwelcome. It was the absence of Justin that gave the place an aura of bitter grey. She shut the door behind her and took a quick dip into the kitchen to flip the kettle switch before moving into the living room to collapse onto the couch. Being a data-capturer was no small task, and not only did she complete her quota for the day, but she also almost made double; a feat achieved only by office legends.
‘Office legend,’ Rebecca said softly and smiled at the thought. ‘Rebecca Greene: Achilles of data capturing.’ She couldn’t help but giggle at her own joke, and as the kettle neared boiling point, she heaved herself from the couch and made her way to the bedroom where she slipped into something more casual. Once dressed in a tracksuit pants and pull-over t-shirt, she made her way down the passage and past the closed study door into the kitchen where, for the first time since who-knows-when, she realized what a mess it was. With his new job, Justin wouldn’t be there to wash the dishes for her anymore. Coming home to a lonely place and unwashed dishes would from now on be the norm. For the briefest moment Rebecca wished that Justin hadn’t gotten the job. She rejected the thought and as she reached for the kettle, a pain shot through her abdomen.
‘Hey little one,’ she said and rubbed the spot where she thought the baby aught to be. ‘Are you all right in there?’
She poured some water from the kettle into her favourite mug and was about to turn to the fridge to get some milk when a figure in the corner of her eye made her freeze in place. She could clearly see the outline of a person standing there, watching her, but she couldn’t see who it was. She didn’t dare move a muscle.
‘Justin?’ she asked softly, but she knew in her heart that it wasn’t him. The figure was shorter than Justin, almost as small as a child, and although she couldn’t make out any distinct features from her peripheral view, she could clearly see two large, black eyes staring right at her.